H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $52.15 and last traded at $51.69, with a volume of 41698 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FUL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of H.B. Fuller from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Vertical Research cut shares of H.B. Fuller from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on H.B. Fuller from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut H.B. Fuller from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on H.B. Fuller from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, H.B. Fuller currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.33.

H.B. Fuller Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.81.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $788.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.55 million. H.B. Fuller had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that H.B. Fuller will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

H.B. Fuller Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. H.B. Fuller’s payout ratio is currently 44.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Celeste Beeks Mastin acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.66 per share, for a total transaction of $198,310.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 3,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,310. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H.B. Fuller

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FUL. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in H.B. Fuller by 128.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 899 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H.B. Fuller by 731.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in H.B. Fuller during the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in H.B. Fuller in the 4th quarter worth $783,000. 95.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H.B. Fuller Company Profile

H.B. Fuller Company, together with its subsidiaries, formulates, manufactures, and markets adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, tapes, encapsulants, additives, and other specialty chemical products. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives.